starfall kindergarten - week 15
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Starfall Kindergarten Reading and Language Arts Curriculumincorporating Science, Social Studies and Technology
Opportunities for child-directed learning Target skills that are introduced, then applied,
integrated, and practiced throughout the year r r English language learners and struggling
readers learn alongside their peers s Interactive technology incorporates visual, auditory, and
kinesthetic learning Appropriate for Kindergarten classrooms and homeschoolers Teacher-tested, research based, and meets state standards
Motivation for children to learn and have fun at the same time
Starfall Education P.O. Box 359, Boulder, CO 80306 U.S.A.
Phone: 1-888-857-8990 or 303-417-6414
Copyright © 2009, 2012 by Starfall Education. All rights reserved. Starfall® is a registered trademark in the U.S., the European Community and many other countries.
This is a one-week excerpt from the Starfall Kindergarten Teacher’s Guide.
If you have questions or comments, please contact us.
Email: helpdesk@starfall.com Phone: 1-888-857-8990 or 303-417-6414 Fax: 1-800-943-6666 or 303-417-6434
Teacher’s GuideTeacher’s Guide
The Animal KingdomThe Animal KingdomUnit 6 • Week 15Unit 6 • Week 15
KindergartenStarfall
Authors and CreditsSenior Authors
Joan Elliott: 18 years teaching kindergarten in North Carolina and Texas public schools, 12 years teaching in Department of Education, University
of North Carolina at Asheville and University of Texas at Brownsville; recipient of Christa McAuliff e Teaching Award, recipient of Fulbright fellowship
to Korea
Pam Ferguson: 34 year veteran kindergarten teacher, Holy Family Catholic School, St. Petersburg, FL; serves on the Florida Catholic Conference
Accreditation team for past 10 years
ConsultantsDr. Karen Cole, Associate Professor of Education, K-6 Program Coordinator, University of NC - Asheville
Dr. Greta Freeman, School of Education, University of South Carolina
Educators
Myrna Estes, 35 years, NYC; Chester, MA; Pittsfi eld, MA Public Schools
Judy Goetze, 35 years, Pittsfi eld, MA Public Schools
Stephanie Riess 15 years Pinellas County, FL Public Schools; 17 years, Diocese of St. Petersburg, FL
Heidi Suburu, 25 years, Fruitvale Public School District, Bakersfi eld, CA, and Elk Hills Public School District, Tupman, CA
Additional Contributors to this project:
We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of our project team of over 150 kindergarten teachers. This project would not be possible without
their help.
Senior Editor and Designer
Brandi Chase
Layout Design
Marc Buchannan
Senior Artist and Print Designer
Faith Gowan
Contributing Artists and Designers
Matthew Baca, Ric Beemer, Dale Beisel, Kimberly Cooper, Craig Deeley, Catherine George, Stefan Gruber, Heather Hogan, David Lebow, Debby Lee,
Frank Lee, Claire Lenth, Gina and Art Morgan of AMGG, Julie Ann Quinsay, Michael Ramirez, Jared Ramos, Scott Stebbins, and Triska Wasser
Musicians/Composers
Randy Graves, Keith Heldman and Richard James
Engineers and Quality Assurance
Kerry Dezell, Adam Griff , Tom Meyer, Larry Moiola, Steve Patschke, Troy Tazbaz, and Roger Wilson
Starfall gratefully acknowledges the following school districts where the Starfall Kindergarten Program was piloted:
Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy, Las Vegas, NV
Boulder Valley School District, Boulder, CO
Buncombe County School District, Asheville, NC
Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Thousand Oaks, CA
Currituck County School District, Knotts Island, NC
Appling County School District, Surrency, GA
Briarcliff Manor School District, Briarcliff Manor, NY
Buckner-Fanning Christian School, San Antonio, TX
Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, FL
Episcopal Diocese of Northwest Texas, All Saints Episcopal School,
Lubbock, TXFruitvale School District, Bakersfi eld, CA
Kent City Community Schools, Kent City, MI Fullerton School District, Fullerton, CA
Los Fresnos Consolidated Independent School District, Los Fresnos, TX Livermore Valley Charter School, Livermore, CA
Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District, Wasilla, AK Italy Independent School District, Italy, TX
Pittsfi eld School District, Pittsfi eld, MA Ogden City School District, Ogden, UT
Rainbow Dreams Charter School, Las Vegas, NV Port Jervis City School District, Cuddebackville, NY
Salina School District, Salina, OK Rhea County School District, Spring City, TN
Screven County School District, Screven, GA Saugus Union School District, Valencia, CA
South Sarpy School District 46, Springfi eld, NE Sierra Sands Unifi ed School District, Ridgecrest, CA
Wayne County School District, Jesup, GA Vinita Public Schools, Vinita, OK
Waynesville R-VI School District, Ft. Leonard Wood, MO
Special thanks to the Alliance for Catholic Education’s English as a New Language Program (ACE-ENL) at the University of Notre Dame for their help
with the ELD component of this program.
Starfall also wishes to thank:
Stephen Schutz, Karen Bidgood, Tad Elliott, and the Purchasing, Customer Service, and Warehouse teams at SPS Studios.
Unit 6: Frequently Asked Questions 4Unit 6: Frequently Asked Questions 4Unit 6: Reading Research 5Unit 6: Reading Research 5Week 15 Overview 6Week 15 Overview 6Preparation 7Preparation 7Review Vowels 10
Introduce Zac the Rat and Medial /a/ 10
Introduce High-Frequency Words: into, get, gets 11
Introduce Zac the Rat 12
Review Initial Short-A Words 14
Introduce Initial Long-A Words 14
Introduce the Animal Kingdom 14
The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear 16
Comprehension: Questioning 18
Substitute Initial/Final Sounds in CVC words with Short-A 19
Word Families –an and –at 19
Sequence Zac the Rat 20
Confl ict and Resolution 21
Introduce Verbs and Infl ectional Ending –s 22
Introduce Backpack Bear’s Mammal Book 23
Write About Our Mammal Friends 24
Backpack Bear’s Mammal Book (Part Two) 25
Word Families –am and –ap 27
Mammals 27
Author’s Chair 29
The Animal KingdomThe Animal KingdomUnit 6 • Week 15Unit 6 • Week 15
KindergartenStarfall
UNIT 6 3
Frequently Asked Questions Frequently Asked QuestionsI have a verbal and easily
distracted group of students.
How can I best meet their
needs?
Determining the learning styles of
your children will help you address
this situation, the three most
common being: visual, auditory,
and kinesthetic. While most use
a combination of learning styles,
one usually dominates.
When delivering instruction, it is
important to present information
such that it communicates to
everyone. Often we teach from
our own learning styles without
realizing it! For example, visual
learners tend to use verb phrases
such as “look here” and “see this,”
thus inadvertently diminishing
the attention of auditory and
kinesthetic learners.
See the table on the facing page
for attributes, recommendations,
and key verbs for getting and
keeping the children’s attention.
How do I determine the
learning style of each child?
A preliminary way of determining
learning styles is to observe a
child’s eye-movement when
answering questions. While
this method is not suffi cient to
confi rm a child’s learning style, it is
a useful indicator.
Ask a “thinking” question such as,
“What did you do on your last
birthday?” Watch the child’s eye
movement as he or she thinks
about the answer.
• Visual—Eyes look straight up
and the head may tilt back.
They are remembering what
they saw or will see, or are
visualizing the answer.
• Auditory—Eyes move to the
right or left. The head may
move sideways. They are
recalling where they heard
something, or listening to
themselves think of the answer.
• Kinesthetic—Eyes go straight
down and the head may tilt
down. They are remembering
how they did something, or
how they would do it.
• All three—Eyes stay forward,
no movement at all, indicating
a balance of all three learning
styles.
Children may demonstrate both
visual and kinesthetic eye-move-
ments. The eye movement that
occurs fi rst indicates their primary
learning style.
Reading Research Reading ResearchThere are three generally accepted
learning styles: visual, auditory, and
kinesthetic. These styles represent
biological and developmental
characteristics aff ecting how each
child learns, and determine how
he or she begins to concentrate
on, process, and retain new and
diffi cult information. Research
indicates that after IQ, a child’s
learning style contributes most
signifi cantly to his or her academic
achievement.(1)
For over 40 years, Rita Dunn,
Professor in the Division of
Administrative Instructional
Leadership, Director of the
Center of the Study of Learning
and Teaching Styles at St. John’s
University, Jamaica, New York,
has advocated that teachers use
multiple strategies to meet the
learning styles of all learners.
Because no one instructional
method or resource will work for
all children, her research suggests
some children do not perform
well simply because their learning
styles have not been met.(2)
When there is no correlation be-
tween a child’s learning style and
the way the teacher is teaching,
the child often becomes inatten-
tive and restless. What is a teacher
to do?
Starfall Kindergarten teachers aim
for balance in their instructional
approach, and use multi-sensory
techniques and strategies to
engage children within each
learning style. Starfall teachers
recognize their own dominant
learning style and purposefully
develop their capacity to com-
municate to other learners. Our
balanced approach provides:
• visual learners vibrantly
illustrated books, posters,
and computer activities, sign
language, graphic organizers,
and student-created stories
and illustrations.
4 UNIT 6
The Kinesthetic Learner The Auditory Learner The Visual Learner
• Makes feelings known and expresses
them physically—gestures when
speaking
• Seems distracted and has diffi culty
paying attention to auditory or visual
presentations—loses interest in long
discussions
• Fidgets while looking at books
• Can be working on something
unrelated and still hear directions and
instructions
• Enjoys listening to others but can’t
wait to talk
• Likes hearing himself/herself and
others talk during recitation, stories,
and discussion
• Looks around and examines
• Has great recall of words presented
visually
• Recognizes words by sight and relies
on confi guration of letters for spelling
• Sometimes stops and stares into
space
Meeting Kinesthetic Needs Meeting Auditory Needs Meeting Visual Needs
• Involve kinesthetic learners directly
in the instruction—they are excellent
volunteers and helpers
• Incorporate movement, use ASL.
• Make up a tune and sing directions
• Drop the pitch of your voice
• Encourage auditory learners to
verbalize information to themselves
and others—partner sharing and
discussion is a must
• Stand to the right of the group when
delivering directions
• Make up a tune and sing directions
• Invite these children to help you
create lists during whole group
instruction. They learn best when
they write things down
• Charts, webs, and images are sure
means of keeping their attention
• Show the pictures during read-alouds
Key Kinesthetic Verbs Key Auditory Verbs Key Visual Verbs
act out, draw, give, feel, make, write, do
build, get, touch, want, use
ask, discuss, explain, listen, say, answer,
hear, sound, talk, whisper
look, show, watch, picture, see, visualize,
view, imagine
• auditory learners computerized
stories read orally, discussions,
partner-reading, music, rhymes,
and oral vocabulary games.
• kinesthetic learners
manipulatives such as play
dough and magnetic letters,
puzzles and sequence cards,
frequent movement, and
interactive computer activities.
As you achieve balance in your
instructional approach, you
guarantee all of your children
learn, at least part of the time, in
the style best suited to them. This
contributes to their increased
comfort and ability to learn. It
even enhances their willingness to
practice learning styles with which
they may not be as comfortable!(3)
1. McDermott, P. (1984). “Comparative Func-
tions of Preschool Learning Style and IQ in
Predicting Future Academic Performance.”
Contemporary Educational Psychology,
Volume 9, (1), 38-47.
2. Dunn, R, Dunn, K, and Perrin, J. (1994).
Teaching Young Children Through Their
Individual Leaning Styles, Boston, MA: Allyn
& Bacon, Inc.
3. Gilbert, J, Swainer, C. (2008).“ Learning
Styles: How Do They Fluctuate?” Institute for
Learning Styles Journal, Volume 1, 29-40.
What great activities, especially from the kinesthetic aspect. My students
need to MOVE! —Wasilla, Alaska
The Starfall kindergarten program has made every attempt to address the varied learning styles
and modalities of the early childhood student. —Las Vegas, Nevada
I love how you incorporate ASL in the plans. This is so great for the
visual and kinesthetic learner. —St. Petersburg, Florida
Pam Ferguson, Florida
35 years experience teaching
early childhood education
Joan Elliott, Texas
31 years experience teaching
early childhood education
UNIT 6 5
WEE
K 1
5 —
OV
ERV
IEW
Week 15 Overview Week 15 OverviewThe Animal KingdomThis week the children encounter the Animal Kingdom, and discover they all belong
to the same animal group as Backpack Bear: mammals! They learn the characteristics
that set mammals apart from the other animal groups as they listen to and discuss
Backpack Bear’s Mammal Book. This week we will:
• learn medial /a/.
• review initial short-a and preview initial long-a.
• understand that words in “word families” rhyme.
Recommended LiteratureThe Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear —
Don and Audrey Wood are husband and wife. They work together as an author-illustrator team. When she writes a book, he illustrates it. Sometimes it is the other way around. One time Audrey wrote a story and also drew all the pictures. Don said he wanted to paint them, so he did. He likes oil paints. Don also likes to illustrate books using a computer to “paint” the pictures.
When Don and Audrey think of an idea for a story, they write it on a scrap of paper and throw it into a cardboard box. One time they fi nished a book, but it didn’t seem right so they put it back in the box. Later, they pulled it out and changed the story and pictures to make it better. The name of that book was King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub. Some of the people and animals in their illustrations look and behave just like their own family and pets.
Starfall Books & Other MediaSing-Along Track 28
“Starfall Speedway”
Zac the Rat
ABC Rhyme Book
The Animal Kingdom Poster
Vertebrates (Animals with Backbones) Poster
Short-A Puzzle (2)
Backpack Bear’s Mammal Book by Alice O. Shepard
6 UNIT 6
PreparationPreparationNow that individual letters have been introduced, rearrange your Word and Picture
Cards: Remove the Alphabet Dividers and replace them with the Short Vowel
Dividers, then organize the word and Picture Cards according to the medial vowel
sounds of the words they represent. Save the Alphabet Dividers for use during the
fi rst half of the next school year.
Save Word Cards: mammals, birds, reptiles, fi sh, and amphibians for use throughout the
second semester.
Generate and prepare:
• Vocabulary Word Cards for Week 15. You will use characteristics, ripe, tromp,
disguise, half, mammals, birds, reptiles, fi sh, and amphibians on Day 2, and limbs,
survive, camoufl age, and predator on Day 4.
• an “ABC Rhyme” practice page for short-a. Photocopy
one for each child to take home and practice
with his or her parents.
This week you will begin using Level-K, Book 2: Reading
and Writing on Day 1. Write each child’s name on the
front cover or let children write their own names.
Day One Familiarize yourself with the adapted vowel version of “Bingo” ahead of time.
Prepare chart paper with two columns labeled “High-Frequency Words” and “Short-a Words.”
Day TwoNone
Day ThreePrepare the Zac the Rat Sentence Strips and Word Cards
for Session 2.
Day FourNone
Day FiveGenerate and photocopy Week 15 “Color by Word”
Practice Page for each child.
Label a sheet of chart paper “Mammals” for Session 1.
The list created in this lesson will be used again in
Week 16, Day 3.
Generate a Practice Page for the skill your children
most need to review for use during Learning Centers.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day y 1
D 2
I have a new friend who wants to be part of our class. Would you like to meet him?Love,
Backpack Bear
Day y 2
D 3
I learned that I belong to a group of animals called mammals. Guess what? You do, too! Love,
Backpack Bear
Day y 3
D 4
I loved learning about Zac’s favorite sound. The same sound is in my name! Do you hear the /a/ in Backpack?Your Pal,Backpack Bear
Day yy 4
D 5
I have a surprise for you! It will help us learn more about mammals.Love,
Backpack Bear
DaD y yy 5
I am so glad we belong to the same animal group, the mammals! Can we make a list of other mammals?Love,
Backpack Bear
UNIT 6 7
WEE
K 1
5 —
OV
ERV
IEW
Reading
Phonemic Awareness
Phonics
High-Frequency Words
Comprehension
Print Concepts
R&W p. 1
Medial /a/
Review vowelsReview homonyms
Zac the Rat
HF Words:
into, get, gets
Initial short-a words
Initial long-a words
Comprehension Skills:Inference
Classify/Categorize
Comprehension Strategy:Open Discussion
Computer BpB’s Books: Concepts, “A-Machine”; ABCs: Zz - Aa; Learn to Read: Row 15, “Y Can Be a Vowel”
Learn to Read: Row 1, “Zac the Rat”; ABCs
Activity “Starfall Speedway” HF Words Short-a words: play dough or mag-netic letters
Listening & Speaking
Literature
Rhymes, Poems & Songs
Vocabulary
“Vowel Bingo”
“Short-A Song”
“Letter March Song Aa”
The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear
“Aa Apple Rhyme”Animal Kingdom PosterAnimals with Backbones Poster
Animal Kingdom, Mammals
Vocabulary: mammals, birds, characteristics, reptiles, tromp, fi sh, amphibians, ripe, disguise, half
Writing
Social Studies
Science Observe, describe similarities and dif-ferences in appearance and behavior of plants and animals; Know stories sometimes give plants and animals attributes they don’t really have;Identify major structures of plants and animals
DAY One DAY Two
8 UNIT 6
R&W p. 2
Substitute initial, fi nal sounds
Word Families: -an, -at
Zac the Rat
Comprehension Skills:SequenceCompare/ContrastStory Details (problem/solution)
R&W p. 3
Infl ectionalending: -s
Comprehension Skill:Identify Genre: nonfi ction
Word Families: -am, -ap
Starfall Free Day
“Starfall Speedway” Short-a
Learn to Read: Row 1, “Zac the Rat”; ABCs
BpB’s Books: Concepts, “A-Machine”Math Songs: 5 Little Bears; 10 Little Monkeys
“Color by Word”
Short-a puzzles Short-a puzzle Sequence Zac the Rat
The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear
Backback Bear’s Mammal Book
Vertebrates (Animals with Backbones)
Poster
Vocabulary: limbs, survive, cam-oufl age, predator
Practice page of your choice
Draw and label mammals
Author’s Chair
Use letters and phonetically spelled words to write about experiences, stories, people, objects, or events
Write by moving from left to right and from top to bottom
Write uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet independently, attending to the form and proper spacing of the letters
Develop and demonstrate creative writing
Participate in creating a variety of informational/expository forms (e.g. labels, lists, graphs, observations, summaries) through drawing or writing
Observe and describe similarities and diff erences in the appearance and behavior of animals
Understand animals, including humans, have internal parts and external structures that function to keep them alive and help them grow and reproduce
Observe and describe similarities and diff erences in the appearance and behavior of animals
Observe and describe similarities and diff erences in the appearance and behavior of animals
DAY Three DAY Four DAY Five
1
2
3
4
56
UNIT 6 9
Day OneWEEK 15
Review Vowels
Say: Let’s look at our Alphabet Chart. Remember, the letters are divided into two categories; conso-nants and vowels. Who can name the fi ve vowels?
Play “Jump Up, Sit Down.”
• Name any letter of the alphabet except y.
• If the letter is a vowel, children sit down on the fl oor.
• If it is a consonant, they jump up.
Explain: There is one letter of the alphabet that is usually a consonant, but in some words it gets to be a vowel. Sometimes y stands for the sound /i/, as in the word my. Some-times it stands for the sound /e/, as in the word pony.
Visit Learn to Read: Row 15, video “Y Can Be a Vowel.”
Review the names of the vowels, a, e i, o, u and sometimes y. Children repeat.
Sing “Vowel Bingo.”
Introduce Zac the Rat and Medial /a/
Read Backpack Bear’s message. Backpack Bear whispers, “I have a clue that might help you guess who my new friend is.” Play Sing-Along Track 28.
Backpack Bear whispers to you, “I met Zac on More.Starfall.com. I told him how much fun I was having in school and he asked if he could come to school and be part of our class, too.” Explain: Zac has a favorite sound. It’s in the middle of his name. Can you guess what it is? (/a/)
Children say /a/ and name the letter that stands for the sound /a/. Zac leads children in “The Letter March.”
Tell Zac you and his fellow classmates will help him learn to write his name.
• Children use their invisible rubber bands to determine the three sounds in
Zac’s name.
• A volunteer writes the letters on the classroom whiteboard as the children
make each sound.
Explain: Zac is a name so it starts with an uppercase letter, Z. Zac’s parents wanted his name to end with c rather than k! Blend the letter sounds together to
read Zac. Children teach Zac the ASL signs that spell Zac.
Phonemic Awareness / Phonics Warm-Up Materials
Navigate to Learn to
Read: Row 15, “Y Can
Be a Vowel”
Reading
Match all consonant
and short-vowel sounds
to appropriate letters
Technology
Use technology
resources to support
learning
Vowel Bingo (Melody: “Bingo”)
There are some letters,
you need to read,
And I will sing them with you,
a, e, i, o, u
a, e, i, o, u
a, e, i, o, u
and then there’s sometimes y.
Materials
Backpack Bear
Plush Zac the Rat
Sing-Along Track 28
R&W, p. 1
Pencils/crayons
Whiteboard / marker
1
Reading
Blend individual
phonemes in CVC
words
Distinguish initial, fi nal,
and/or medial
phonemes in words
Match consonant and
short-vowel sounds to
appropriate letters
Blend and/or segment
individual phonemes
in simple, one-syllable
words
10 UNIT 6
tS
tS
rrarafa
lll KiKndergatrten
WEEK 15 • DAY 1Zac whispers, “I have a new book and the fi rst page has my picture on it. It also has
pictures of words with my favorite sound, /a/.”
Distribute Practice Book 2: Reading & Writing and complete page 1.
Introduce High-Frequency Words: into, get, gets
Write into on the board. Say: This word is into. (Children
repeat.) Who can fi nd the two words in into? Volunteers
circle in and to on the board.
Explain: When two words are put together to form a new
word, we call it a compound word.
Write get on the board. Say: Let’s decode this high-frequency word together, /g/
/e/ /t/, get.
Write gets on the board. Ask children what they notice about the word (get + s).
Children name the word.
Divide the class into three seated groups. Assign one of the three high-frequency
words to each group. Explain: I will say a sentence that uses one or more of these
new high-frequency words. If you hear your word in the sentence, your group
stands. Ready?
• May I get you some food?
• Zac gets to be in our class!
• Put this into the box.
• Ready, get set, go!
• Please get into the car.
• Please put the present into your bag.
• Backpack Bear gets to be the leader today.
• The bird fl ew into the cage.
• Please get into bed!
• Cindy gets to be fi rst.
Gather children in a semicircle. Place the High-Frequency Word Cards face-down on
the fl oor. Play “High-Frequency Word Search.”
• A volunteer chooses any face-down card, turns over the card, shows it to the class,
and then reads the word.
• If the word is read correctly, the class give a “thumbs up.”
• The child returns the card to the fl oor face-up and chooses the next volunteer.
• Continue the game until all cards have been revealed.
Write into, get, and gets in your Starfall Dictionary. The children follow your example.
Materials
High-Frequency Word
Cards: and, are, be, can,
for, get, gets, go, has, he,
in, is, it, like, likes, not,
on, see, she, the, to, you
Starfall Dictionaries
Classroom
whiteboard/marker
2
Reading
Read simple one-
syllable and high-
frequency words
Children enter new
high-frequency
words into
their Starfall
Dictionaries.
My StarfallDICTIONARY
UNIT 6 11
WEEK 15 • DAY 1
Computer
• Backpack Bear’s Books: Concepts “A-Machine”
• ABCs: Begin with Zz and review letters backwards
• Learn to Read: Row 15, Skills “Y Can Be a Vowel”
Activity
Children review letter sounds, and blend CVC words
with medial /a/, to advance on the “Starfall Speedway.”
If a child has diffi culty reading a word, he or she may ask
another child for assistance.
Introduce Zac the Rat
Navigate to Learn to Read: Row 1, “Zac the Rat.” Sing “The
Short-A Song” along with the computer. Read the title, Zac
the Rat.
Say: This story was written and illustrated by a team of
people who work for Starfall.
Proceed to the fi rst page and discuss the illustration. Chil-
dren predict what might happen to Zac in the story. Read
the story.
Give each child a copy of Zac the Rat. Children print their
names on the back cover.
Read the story in unison. Say: There are two types of words used in this story.
One type is high-frequency words we have already learned, and the other is
words with the short-a sound.
Display the chart paper labeled High-Frequency Words/Short-A Words. Say: Let’s
categorize the words into these two groups as we read the story together.
• Read the fi rst sentence together.
• Children identify high-frequency words.
• Write the words in the High-Frequency Word column.
• Read the remaining words. Children segment and blend the
sounds to determine if the words use the short-a sound.
• Write the short-a words in the Short-A Words column.
• Children fi nd the high-frequency words with short-a sounds
and circle those words with a diff erent colored marker.
Practice
Technology
Use technology
resources to support
learning
Materials
“Starfall Speedway”
Word Cards: am, an,
and, at, bag, bat, can,
cap, cat, fan, had, ham,
has, hat, jam, mad,
man, map, pan, rat, sad,
van, Zac
Reading
Blend and/or segment
individual phonemes in
simple words
Materials
Navigate to Learn to
Read: Row 1, “Zac the
Rat”
Zac the Rat decodable
book for each child
Chart paper with two
columns labeled:
High-Frequency
Words, Short-A Words
Plush Zac the Rat
Backpack Bear
High-Frequency Word
Cards: get, into
3
Reading
Blend and/or segment
individual phonemes in
simple words
Distinguish initial, fi nal,
and/or medial
phonemes in words
Read simple one-
syllable and high-
frequency words
Use pictures and
context to make
predictions about
story content
Technology
Use technology
resources to support
learning
Ask a volunteer
to write the words.
12 UNIT 6
tS
tS
rrarafa
lll KiKndergatrten
WEEK 15 • DAY 1When completed, your list should look like this:
Recall that homonyms are words that sound the same but have diff erent meanings.
Explain: Can is a homonym. We might say, I can run. Another way we might use
can is, What is in the can?
Review the lists of words.
High-Frequency Words
isa
oncantheto
hadand
Short-A Words
Zacratsat
antsranjampanfannapcanhadand
Collect the books. You will use them again on Day 3.
UNIT 6 13
Day TwoWEEK 15
Review Initial Short-A Words
Introduce Initial Long-A Words
Review Backpack Bear’s Rhyme “Aa Apple.” Children repeat the rhyme as you
recite it. They name the words that begin with a. (apple, as)
Explain: The letter A stands for another sound. We call it long-a. The sound
of long-a is the letter’s own name, a. This word begins with the long-a
sound, ate.
• Children make the sound of long-a in ate.
• Name other words beginning with the long-a such as April, apron, and ape.
• Children repeat these words.
Say: Let’s play a game with words that begin with long and short-a. If you
hear a word that begins with short-a, place your palms very close together,
but not quite touching. (Demonstrate) If the word begins with long-a,
spread your palms wide apart as if measuring something long. Ready?
ambulance ax acorn apple
Africa age ants ask
apron ate alligator aim
Introduce the Animal Kingdom
Review Backpack Bear’s message. Backpack Bear whispers, “I
watched a TV show about mammals and other animal groups.
What is a mammal? What are the other animal groups?”
Ask: Do you remember when we sorted letters into
groups of curved-line letters, straight-line letters, and
letters that have both curved and straight lines? When
we did this, we classifi ed the letters based on their
characteristics. A characteristic is something that makes
a person or thing diff erent from others. (Children repeat,
characteristic.) Letters with the characteristic of curved lines went in the curved-
line group. Letters with the characteristic of straight lines went in the straight-
line group. Letters that have curved and straight characteristics went in the
both group.
Phonemic Awareness Warm-Up Materials
ABC Rhyme Book
Reading
Distinguish initial
phonemes in words
Listening & Speaking
Recite short rhymes
Materials
Animal Kingdom
Poster
Animals with
Backbones Poster
Pocket chart
Vocabulary Word Card:
characteristics
Word Cards: mammals,
birds, reptiles,
amphibians, fi sh
Picture Cards: cat, duck,
frog, shark, snake
1Reading
Identify and sort
common words in basic
categories (e.g., colors,
shapes, foods)
Science
Observe and describe
similarities and
diff erences in the
appearance and
behavior of plants and
animals (e.g., seed-
bearing plants, birds,
fi sh, insects)
Know that stories
sometimes give plants
and animals attributes
they do not really have
Identify major structures
of common plants and
animals (e.g., stems,
leaves, roots, arms,
wings, legs)
14 UNIT 6
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WEEK 15 • DAY 2Explain:
• Scientists classify everything in the world into groups using characteristics,
just as we did when we classifi ed the letters.
• First, scientists look for characteristics that are the same.
• Next, they look for characteristics that make something special or unique.
• Scientists decided that every living thing with the characteristic of being
able to move from one place to another is an animal and belongs in the
Animal Kingdom.
Display The Animal Kingdom Poster. Read the title. Children repeat.
Indicate and read “Animals with Backbones.” Explain: Scientists found that
some animals have backbones. You have a backbone. Your backbone is
made up of 24 bones running down your back. Touch your backbone to
see if you can feel it! Children do this.
Indicate and read “Animals without Backbones.” Tell the children they will learn
about animals without backbones later.
Display the Animals with Backbones Poster. Say: When scientists looked at
the characteristics of animals with backbones, they found there were
fi ve groups: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fi sh. Do you
remember which animal group Backpack Bear said he belonged to?
(mammals)
Place the Picture Cards cat, duck, frog, shark, snake in the third row of your
pocket chart. Children name each animal. Say: Each of these animals
belongs to a diff erent animal group.
• Place the Word Card mammals above the cat Picture Card.
• Read the card, and explain that a cat belongs to the mammal animal group.
• Children say, mammal.
Repeat for duck (birds), snake (reptiles), frog (amphibians), and shark (fi sh).
Move the cat Picture Card and mammal Word Card to the center of the pocket chart.
Say: Let’s talk about mammals! When scientists looked at mammals they found
two very important characteristics that made them special or unique.
• They have hair, fur, or layers of fat to keep their bodies warm.
• Mammal mothers feed their babies milk from their bodies.
Say: None of the other animal groups share these two characteristics, only
mammals. I remember something else important from Backpack Bear’s mes-
sage. In his message he told us he is a mammal. He also said his classmates are
mammals. That means you and me! Look at your classmates. What mammal
characteristic do you see on the top of our heads? That’s right. Hair!
Briefl y review the animal groups as you indicate and name them.
UNIT 6 15
WEEK 15 • DAY 2
Introduce The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe
Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear
Display The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big
Hungry Bear. Discuss the cover, title, author, and illustrator of
this story. Ask children to predict what this story might be
about based on the title and cover illustration.
Ask: What animal group do you think the little mouse belongs to? (mammal)
How do you know? (A mouse has hair or fur and feeds its babies with milk from the
mother’s body.)
Picture-walk through the book, then read the story. Introduce new vocabulary words
as you read.
ripe fully developed, ready to eat
tromp to walk heavily and noisily; to stomp
disguise something you wear that changes the way you look,
so others don’t recognize you
half one of two equal parts
Review the meaning of the new vocabulary words in the context of the story.
• ripe — Say: The author used the word ripe to describe the strawberry.
Children say, ripe, then defi ne the word. Discuss other fruits or vegetables
that can be ripe.
• disguise — Children recall the meaning of disguise. The mouse used a
disguise for himself, and he also disguised the strawberry. Ask: Why do you
think the mouse used a disguise?
• tromp — Display and read the page, “BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The bear will
tromp through the forest on his big, hungry feet, and SNIFF! SNIFF! SNIFF!
fi nd the strawberry.”
Children stand. Say: One of the vocabulary words on this page is tromp. (Chil-
dren say, tromp.) Everyone, please tromp around the room. (Children tromp.)
Now, walk softly around the room. (Children walk softly.) Now tromp around
the room again!
Children discuss the diff erence between tromping and walking softly.
• half — To demonstrate, divide the class in half. (Make two equal groups.) The
groups face each other, forming partners.
Say: Here is half of the group and here is the other half. When the mouse di-
vided his strawberry in half, he had two pieces of one strawberry.
Read the story. Children listen to determine who is speaking to the mouse.
Materials
The Little Mouse, the
Red Ripe Strawberry,
and the Big Hungry Bear
by Don and Audrey
Wood
Vocabulary Word
Cards: ripe, tromp,
disguise, half
2Reading
Describe common
objects and events in
both general and
specifi c language
Identify the front
cover, title, author,
and illustrator
Use pictures and
context to make
predictions about
story content
Ask and answer
questions about
essential elements of
a text
Identify a reading
selection as fi ction or
nonfi ction by using
background knowledge,
supporting details, or
other sources
Relate new vocabulary
to prior knowledge
Use a variety of
strategies to
comprehend
grade-level text
Answer questions about
the text using creative
and critical thinking
strategies
Science
Observe and describe
similarities and
diff erences in the
appearance and
behavior of plants and
animals (e.g. seed-
bearing plants, birds,
fi sh, insects)
If you have an uneven
number of children,
select one child to be
the “counter” to ensure
each group has the same
number of children.
16 UNIT 6
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WEEK 15 • DAY 2After reading, ask children to identify the speaker. Accept all answers. Explain that
the speaker could have been anyone, since the text and illustrations did not tell us
the answer.
Children decide if this story is fi ction or nonfi ction and give reasons for their decisions.
Partner children. Explain that you will ask questions and they are to discuss the an-
swers, then share their responses.
Ev Do you think there really was a big, hungry bear, or do you think the
person talking to the little mouse tricked him?
Kn Why did the little mouse need a ladder?
Kn How did the little mouse use the lock and chain?
Kn What did the little mouse use for a disguise?
Un Why did the little mouse cut the strawberry in half?
Ev If you had to keep the strawberry away from a big, hungry bear,
what would you have done?
Say: Let’s use our new high-frequency words in sentences with our new
vocabulary words! Write each sentence on the board. Volunteers circle the high-
frequency words in each sentence. The class identifi es the vocabulary word used in
each sentence.
• I can get a ripe strawberry from the store.
• I will get into a disguise to fool my friends.
• Backpack Bear gets half the strawberry.
• The bear will tromp through the forest to get some berries to eat.
Ask children if they remember the name of the animal group that Backpack Bear and
the mouse belong to. (mammals)
Review the two characteristics of mammals:
• They have hair, fur, or layers of fat to keep their bodies warm.
• Mammal mothers feed their babies milk from their bodies.
Encourage children to fi nd pictures of mammals in magazines at home and bring
them in to share with the class.
Add ripe, tromp, disguise, and half to your Starword Wall after the second Small Group session.
UNIT 6 17
WEEK 15 • DAY 2
Computer
• Learn to Read: Row 1 Book, “Zac the Rat”
• ABCs: A, Z, C, D, G, M, N, P, and T
Activity
Children will choose Short-A Picture Cards and form the letters needed to spell the words, using play dough or
magnetic letters.
Comprehension: Questioning
Distribute Zac the Rat. Read the story together.
Distribute the “six-box” drawing paper. Children write their names on the back of the paper. You may wish for children to number the boxes from one to six in the upper left corner of each box.
Say: I will ask you some questions. You will sketch your answers using a pencil. You may use your Zac the Rat book for illustration suggestions.
Ask the following questions and pause for children to sketch their answers before moving to the next question. Children can add color and detail to their illustrations
at the end of the session.
Zac Who is the main character in the story?
Jam spilled and ants were crawling around.
What was the problem he had?
He used a pan to get rid of the ants.
What did Zac try fi rst to solve his problem?
He used a fan to blow them away.
What was the second thing he tried to solve his problem?
fan What fi nally worked for him?
took a nap What did he do at the end of the story?
Invite children to share their completed papers with their neighbors, then add color
and detail to their illustrations.
Practice
Materials
Play dough or magnetic letters
Picture Cards: bag, bat, can, cap, cat, man, map, pan, rat, wag, Zac
Technology
Use technology
resources to support
learning
Reading
Match consonant and
short vowel sounds to
appropriate letters
Blend individual
phonemes in words
Materials
Each child’s copy of
Zac the Rat
Drawing paper
divided into 6 boxes
Pencils/crayons
3
Reading
Ask and answer
questions about
essential elements
of a text
18 UNIT 6
WEEK 15
Day Three
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Substitute Initial/Final Sounds in CVC words
with Short-A
Ask what new word would be formed if the children changed:
• the /j/ in jam to /h/. (ham)
Continue with /b/, /S/, /P/, and /r/. (bam, Sam, Pam, ram)
• the /h/ in had to /m/. (mad)
Continue with /s/, /b/, /p/, /d/ and /T/. (sad, bad, pad, dad, Tad)
• the /d/ in had to /t/. (hat)
Continue with /m/ and /s/. (ham, has)
• the /n/ in pan to /m/. (Pam)
Continue with /t/, /d/, and /l/. (pat, pad, pal)
Word Families –an and –at
Place the Word Cards at (on the left) and an (on the right) in
the top row of the pocket chart. Leave a space between the
words. Children read the words together.
Say: Today we will learn two word families. I will show
you pictures. The names of some of the pictures belong
to the –at word family, and some belong to the –an word family.
Words that belong to a word family rhyme. Ran and tan rhyme.
They belong to the –an family. Mat, pat, and sat rhyme. They
belong to the –at family.
Place the Picture Cards randomly near the bottom of the pocket chart.
Indicate at. Children say, at.
• Invite a volunteer to locate and identify a Picture Card that rhymes
with at.
• The children repeat the word.
• The volunteer places the Picture Card on the left side of the pocket chart under at.
Repeat for an with a new volunteer. Continue identifying and classifying the remain-
ing pictures.
Complete R&W, p. 2.
Phonemic Awareness / Phonics Warm-Up Materials
None
These words may be written on the board for children who need visual
clues.
Reading
Manipulate individual
phonemes in CVC
words through
addition, deletion,
and substitution
Understand that as
letters of words change,
so do the sounds
Understand that the
sequence of letters
in the written word
represents the sequence
of sounds in the spoken
word
Materials
Pocket chart
Word Cards: at, an
Picture Cards: bat, can,
cat, fan, hat, man, pan,
rat, van
R&W, p. 2
Pencils/ crayons
1
Reading
Blend individual
phonemes in simple,
one-syllable words
Identify and sort
common words in
basic categories
UNIT 6 19
WEEK 15 • DAY 3
Sequence Zac the Rat
Distribute Zac the Rat to each child. Children follow along in
their books as you read the story. Children partner and read
to each other.
Gather the children. Place the Sequence Cards, without the
sentences, in the pocket chart in random order, one below
the other. Say: Let’s look at these pictures from Zac the Rat and see if the story
makes sense in this order.
• Children work together to reorder the pictures to match the book.
• Check together for accuracy.
Children match the correct Sentence Strip to each Sequence Card. To check for
accuracy, turn the Sequence Card over to reveal the sentence. Remove the Sequence
Cards from the chart. Place the Sentence Strip Word Cards, Zac is a rat, in random
order in the pocket chart.
• Children read the words and determine if they make sense in this order.
• Volunteers reorder the words to form the sentence, Zac is a rat.
Children read the sentence together and count the number of words. Place the Zac is
a rat Sentence Strip in the pocket chart next to the Word Cards. Say: Let’s count the
number of words on this Sentence Strip. A volunteer places each individual Word
Card on top of the words in the Sentence Strip.
Continue with other sentences from Zac the Rat. Consider partnering children to con-
struct sentences. This activity will be used as a learning center in future lessons.
Computer
• Learn to Read: Row 1 Book, “Zac the Rat”
• ABCs: B, F, H, J, K
Activity
Children complete the short-a puzzles, then list the
short-a words from the puzzles on writing paper.
Materials
Each child’s copy of
Zac the Rat
Zac the Rat Sequence
Picture Cards,
Sentence Strips and
Word Cards
Pocket chart
2
Reading
Recognize that
sentences in print are
made up of separate
words
Identify sequence of
events in a story
Retell familiar stories
Auditorily segment
sentences into correct
number of words
Zac the Rat - sentence strip Starfall coma
Zac is a rat.
Zac is a ff
rat omomfallfall cco
.
Practice
Materials
Two Short-A Puzzles
Writing paper/pencils
Technology
Use technology
resources to support
learning
Reading
Read simple one-
syllable and high-
frequency words
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WEEK 15 • DAY 3
Confl ict and Resolution
Display The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the
Big Hungry Bear. Children retell the story as you picture-walk
through the pages. Ask if this story reminds them of Zac
the Rat.
Read Zac the Rat. Children compare and contrast the two
stories. As part of the discussion, recall the characteristics of
mammals and confi rm that both a mouse and a rat are
members of this group.
In the pocket chart, display and read the Story Element Card: What is the story’s con-
fl ict or problem? How was it solved? Explain: Every story has a confl ict, or problem,
and a solution, or a way to solve the problem.
• Display The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear.
• A volunteer identifi es the story’s problem.
• Children discuss the story’s solution.
Repeat for Zac the Rat. Partner children to discuss other possible solutions to Zac’s
problem, then report back to the class.
Materials
The Little Mouse, the
Red Ripe Strawberry,
and the Big Hungry Bear
Zac the Rat Decodable
Book, teacher edition
Story Element Card:
What is the story’s
confl ict or problem?
How was it solved?
Pocket chart
3
Reading
Retell familiar stories
Ask and answer
questions about
essential elements
of a text
Demonstrate an
understanding of story
elements
Science
Observe and describe
similarities and
diff erences in the
appearance and
behavior of animals
UNIT 6 21
Day FourWEEK 15
Introduce Verbs and Infl ectional Ending –s
Say: Words that describe actions, or things we do, are called verbs.
Write like and likes on the board. Children identify the diff erence between the
two words. Explain: We often add -s to verbs depending on who is doing the
action. Listen for verbs, or action words, in these sentences:
• I like to read about Zac.
• Zac likes to play with Backpack Bear.
• We help Backpack Bear write his letters.
• Zac helps us learn the short-a sound.
Say: I will use some other verbs in sentences. Listen carefully, and tell me
how to correct the sentence so it makes sense. Ready? We likes to use the
computer. How should we change the verb in the sentence to correct it?
Yes, We like to use the computer.
Continue for:
• Zac want to play outside.
• The teacher need a pencil.
• We needs to walk in the hallways.
• Backpack Bear fi nd his book.
• We hops to the door.
• Zac play with the ants.
• Backpack Bear bump his nose.
Phonemic Awareness / Phonics Warm-Up Materials
None
Reading
Read simple one-
syllable and high-
frequency words
Understand that as
letters of words change,
so do the sounds
Identify words that
name actions
Listening & Speaking
Communicate
eff ectively when
sharing ideas
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WEEK 15 • DAY 4
Introduce Backpack Bear’s Mammal Book
Display and review the Animals with Backbones Poster. Say:
We learned about the animal group we and Backpack
Bear belong to. Who remembers the name of our animal
group? (mammals) We also learned the characteristics of
mammals. Partner-discuss what you learned about the
characteristics animals have to have to be members of the mammal animal
group. (Mammal mothers feed their babies milk from their bodies, and mammals
have hair/fur/fat.) Partners share with the class.
Display Backpack Bear’s Mammal Book. Say: We will learn more about mammals in
Backpack Bear’s Mammal Book. I will read a few pages, then you will partner-
share what you learned. Ready? Read the following sets of pages. Pause for chil-
dren to partner-share something they learned or heard about mammals, then report
back to the class. Introduce vocabulary words during this discussion.
• pages 2-7 — Mammals have backbones, are “warm-blooded,” feed their
babies milk from the mothers’ bodies, and have hair, fur, or fat to keep their
bodies warm.
• pages 8-9 — The babies of mammals look like their parents. Mammals look
for safe places to have their babies.
• pages 10-11 — Baby kangaroos and koala bears fi nish growing inside their
mothers’ pouches; platypus and echidnas hatch from eggs; all are fed with
milk from their mothers’ bodies.
• pages 13-19 (limbs) — Introduce limbs: the arms or legs of a person or
four-legged animal.
Mammals have four limbs. Land animals use them to walk on land.
Other mammals use them to swim. A bat uses its limbs to fl y.
Mammals breathe air with lungs.
• pages 20-21 (survive) — Introduce survive: to continue to live.
Mammal parents teach their babies to hunt, or fi nd, food and water to live.
Ask: Is this book fi ction or nonfi ction? How do you know it is nonfi ction?
Explain that you will fi nish Backpack Bear’s book later today.
Materials
Animals with
Backbones Poster
Backpack Bear’s
Mammal Book by Alice
O. Shepard
Vocabulary Word
Cards: limbs, survive
1Reading
Understand that printed materials provide information
Identify a reading selection as fi ction or nonfi ction by using background knowledge, supporting details, or other sources
Listen to and discuss both familiar and conceptually
challenging text
Science
Understand animals, including humans, have internal parts and external structures that function to keep them alive and help them grow and reproduce
Observe and describe similarities and diff erences in the appearance and behavior of animals
You will address pages 2-21 during this session and
complete the book during Session 3.
Vertebrates (Animals with Backbones)
Starfall comll cccc
Mammals Birds Reptiles FishAmphibians
“Warm-Blooded” “Cold-Blooded”
UNIT 6 23
WEEK 15 • DAY 4
Write About Our Mammal Friends
Say: I wonder if Zac is a mammal. We know that we and
Backpack Bear are mammals. How is Zac like us and
Backpack Bear? (He has hair/fur to keep him warm, and
when he was a baby he drank milk from his mother’s body.) Only mammals have
hair or fur and can drink milk from their mothers’ bodies, so Zac is also a mam-
mal!
Invite children to imagine Zac and Backpack Bear have come to their houses to play.
Encourage several volunteers to share ideas about what they might do as a warm-up
to the writing activity.
Distribute the writing journals, dictionaries, and pencils. Children use their dictionar-
ies and kidwriting to write about Zac and Backpack Bear’s visit to their homes. As you
circulate to do adult writing, encourage children to add another sentence by asking
what happened next.
As children fi nish, they may add illustrations and share their writing with others who
have also fi nished. Children will share their writings with the class on Day 5.
Computer
• Backpack Bear’s Books: Concepts, “A-Machine”
• Math Songs: 5 Little Bears; 10 Little Monkeys
Activity
Children reference the Short-A Puzzle boxes to
complete R&W, p. 3. If time permits, children color
the illustrations.
Materials
Starfall Writing
Journals
Starfall Dictionaries
Pencils/crayons
2
Writing
Use letters and
phonetically spelled
words to write about
experiences, stories,
people, objects, or
events
Write by moving from
left to right and from
top to bottom
Write uppercase and
lowercase letters of the
alphabet independent-
ly, attending to the form
and proper spacing of
the letters
Produce, illustrate, and
share a fi nished piece of
writing
Science
Understand that all
animals, including
humans, are alike in
some ways and
diff erent in othersPractice
Materials
Short-A Puzzles
R&W, p. 3
Pencils/crayons
Technology
Use technology
resources to support
learning
Reading
Blend individual
phonemes in simple,
one-syllable words
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WEEK 15 • DAY 4
Backpack Bear’s Mammal Book (Part Two)
Gather children in a circle. Say: Backpack Bear wants to
know what you remember about his mammal book.
We’ll pass Backpack Bear around. When he comes to
you, share one thing you learned from his book, then
pass him to the next person. If you can’t remember any-
thing, just say “pass.” Children pass Backpack Bear around the circle as they share.
Display Backpack Bear’s Mammal Book.
Read pages 20-21. Say: All animals, including mammals, need
to eat and drink to survive, or live. Some animals eat only
meat. (carnivores) Some animals eat only plants. (herbivores)
And animals like you, Zac, and Backpack Bear can eat both
meat and plants! (omnivores)
Read pages 22-23. Ask: Are animals bad because they catch
smaller animals to eat? No, they are doing what they need to do in
order to survive. We call animals that hunt and eat other animals in order to
survive predators. (Children repeat, predators.)
Read pages 24-27. Explain: Animals know they could become food for other ani-
mals! They have to be very careful. Some animals hide to protect themselves.
Some animals have fur or hair that blends in with their environment. They al-
most look like the trees or grass! They are camoufl aged. That means they look
like they are part of the environment so it fools other animals. (Children repeat,
camoufl aged.)This helps protect them from predators.
Read pages: 28-29. Review the characteristics of mammals.
Page 31: Paraphrase the information related to what it means to be “warm-blooded.”
Say: You have learned a lot about mammals in Backpack Bear’s Mammal
Book! Let’s play “Mystery Mammal!” I’ll give some clues and you name the
mammal.
bear I have four limbs and a lot of fur. I use my four limbs
to walk. My cousin is Backpack Bear. What am I?
monkey I have four limbs. I use two of my limbs to swing from
branch to branch. What am I?
cow I am a female mammal. When I get older, I make milk that
you can drink at meal times. What am I?
whale I am one of the biggest animals that lives in the water.
I use my limbs to swim. I have lungs, so I have to come to
the top of the water to get air to breathe. What am I?
Materials
Backpack Bear’s
Mammal Book by Alice
O. Shepard
Vocabulary Word
Cards: camoufl age,
predator
Backpack Bear
3
Reading
Understand that printed
materials provide
information
Listening & Speaking
Listen attentively to
nonfi ction read-alouds
and demonstrate un-
derstanding
Communicate
eff ectively when
sharing ideas
Science
Know that animals,
including humans,
have internal parts and
external structures that
function to keep them
alive and help them
grow and reproduce
Observe and describe
similarities and
diff erences in the
appearance and
behavior of animals
The terms carnivore,
herbivore, and omnivore are
optional during this discussion.
UNIT 6 25
WEEK 15 • DAY 4
kangaroo I am an unusual mammal. I carry my babies in my pouch
while they grow after they are born. I have four limbs and
two of them help me hop. What am I?
elephant I am a very large land animal. I use my big trunk to gather
branches and leaves from trees to eat. What am I?
camel I start with /k/ and end with /l/. I use my four limbs to walk.
I can have one hump on my back or two. What am I?
bat I am the only mammal that uses its limbs to fl y! My wings
are like your arms. I feed my young with milk from my
body and I have fur. What am I?
tiger I am the largest wild cat in the world! My fur is reddish-
orange with large, dark stripes that help camoufl age me
and hide me from other animals. I am a great hunter and
sneak up on other animals to kill for food. What am I?
platypus I am diff erent from other mammals because I lay eggs! I
am still a mammal because I have hair and feed my babies
with milk from my body. What am I?
Backpack Bear’s
Mammal Book
will be referenced
during the next
two weeks.
26 UNIT 6
WEEK 15
Day Five
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Word Families –am and –ap
Place the Letter Cards a and m from Deck 1 in the
pocket chart side by side. Leave space to the left to in-
sert an additional Letter Card. Children blend the letters
to identify the word am. Explain: We can make new words that belong to the
–am family.
• A volunteer takes the top card from Letter Card Deck 1 and places it to the
left of -am in the pocket chart.
• The child blends and reads the new word aloud (e.g., jam).
Volunteers continue as above, until all the Letter Cards from Deck 1 have been placed.
Repeat with Letter Cards a and p and Letter Card Deck 2.
Mammals
Display Backpack Bear’s Mammal Book. Say: We will
picture-walk through this book and look for diff erent
mammals. When we fi nish, we’ll make a list of mammals
on chart paper.
Allow for some discussion as you picture-walk through the book. When you fi nish,
children suggest animals that belong to the mammal group.
• Write the names of the animals in a numbered list on the chart paper as they are given.
• If an animal is named that is not a mammal, review mammal characteristics
(has hair/fur/fat to keep its body warm and feeds its babies with milk from the
mother’s body) to help children make the correct determination.
At the end of this session, explain that as children discover other animals that belong
to the mammal group, you will add their names to the list. Review the list.
Save this list, it will be used during today’s Learning Center rotations and again on
Week 16, Day 3.
Phonemic Awareness / Phonics Warm-Up Materials
Pocket chart
Letter Card Deck 1: a,
b, h, j, m, p, r, S, s, t
Letter Card Deck 2: a, c,
g, l, m, p, n, r, s, tReading
Blend individual
phonemes in simple,
one-syllable words
Read simple one-
syllable and high-
frequency words
Materials
Chart paper entitled
“Mammals”
Marker
Backpack Bear’s
Mammal Book
1
Reading
Connect to life
experiences the
information and
events in texts
Listening & Speaking
Communicate
eff ectively when
sharing ideas
Writing
Participate in creating
a variety of
informational/
expository forms (e.g.
labels, lists, graphs,
observations,
summaries) through
drawing or writing
Science
Observe and describe
similarities and
diff erences in the
appearance and
behavior of animals
UNIT 6 27
WEEK 15 • DAY 5
Computer
Starfall Free Day — Children may navigate to any activity on more.starfall.com.
”Starfall Speedway”
Children identify short-a CVC words to advance on the
game board.
”Color by Word”
Children reference the Color Word Bank to complete
this page.
Sequence Zac the Rat
Children sequence Zac the Rat by placing the Sequence
Cards, Sentence Strips, and individual Word Cards in
story order.
Generator Practice Page
Choose the skill your children most need to review and
create a practice page.
Draw and Label Mammals
Children draw pictures of mammals and label them,
referencing the chart created during Session 1.
1Technology
Use technology
resources to support
learning
Materials
“Starfall Speedway”
Short-A Word Cards:
bag, bat, can, cap, cat,
fan, ham, hat, jam,
mad, man, map, pan,
rat, sad, van, wag, Zac
2Reading
Blend consonant-
vowel-consonant
sounds orally to
identify words
Materials
Week 15 “Color by
Word” Practice Page
Pencils/crayons
3Reading
Read simple one-
syllable and high-
frequency words
Materials
Zac the Rat Decodable
Book for each child
Zac the Rat Sequence
Cards, Sentence Strips,
Word Cards
Pocket chart
ble
4Reading
Read simple one-
syllable and high-
frequency words
Identify sequence of
events in a story
Zac the Rat - sentence strip Starfall coma
Zac is a rat.
Zac is a ff
rat omomfallfall cco
.
Materials
Generated practice
page of your choice
5
Materials
Chart paper list
of mammals from
Session 1
Drawing paper
Pencils/crayons
6Reading
Connect to life experi-
ences the information
and events in texts
Writing
Participate in creating
a variety of informa-
tional/expository forms
(e.g. labels, lists, graphs,
observations, summa-
ries) through drawing or
writing
28 UNIT 6
tS
tS
rrarafa
lll KiKndergatrten
WEEK 15 • DAY 5
Author’s Chair
Allow time for children to complete their writings begun
on Day 4 if needed. Children who are fi nished look through
books about mammals.
Gather around the Author’s Chair. As children present their stories, their classmates
ask questions or make positive comments. Each child puts away his or her writing
journal after sharing.
Materials
Starfall Writing
Journals
Author’s Chair
2
Reading
Connect to life
experiences the
information and
events in texts
Listening & Speaking
Communicate
eff ectively when
sharing ideas
UNIT 6 29
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